A pair of Coastal Plain League alums were honored by Minor League Baseball as Players of the Week for the week ending June 27.  Former Tob and Stinger, Jerry Sands was name Batter of the Week for Southern League (Double A), while another former Tob, Daniel Taylor was named Pitcher of the Week in the Pioneer League (Rookie)

In his first week of Double A ball, Sands was red hot at the plate.  He hit .467 with three home runs and four RBI in four games with the Chattanooga Lookouts in the L.A. Dodgers organization.

Sands spent three summers in the Coastal Plain League as a member of the Spartanburg Stingers in 2006 and as a Wilson Tob in 2007 and 2008.  While with Spartanburg in 2006, Sands played in 50 games and hit .282 while racking up a league high 15 doubles.  For the Tobs in 2007, Sands hit .278 with 14 doubles and 10 home runs in 53 games.  His 10 home runs ranked fifth in the league in 2007.  In his final season with Wilson, Sands hit .391 in six games before leaving to begin his professional career.

Sands was drafted out of Catawba College in the 25th round of the 2008 MLB Draft by the L.A. Dodgers.  This is the fourth time Sands has been named Batter of the Week this season.  He was honored with this award for the weeks ending April 19, April 26, and May 10 by the Class A Midwest League before being promoted to Double A last week.

In Taylor’s only start of the week, the former Tob went the distance on the mound.  In the outing he allowed only one run on four hits while striking out 11 for the Missoula Osprey of the Arizona Diamondbacks farm system.

While with Wilson in 2007 and 2008, Taylor put together two solid seasons.  In 2007, he went 4-3 with a 1.78 ERA in 10 starts.  In his second season with the Tobs, Taylor was an impressive 6-2 in nine starts with a 2.70 ERA.

Taylor was drafted by the Arizona Diamondbacks in the 21st round of the 2009 MLB Draft out of Central Michigan University.  This is the second Pitcher of the Week award for Taylor in as many weeks after being honored as the Pitcher of the Week last Monday for the California League.